Lost: Michael Emerson Explains the Finale, Teases Extras

Discussions about what the series finale of Lost really meant are still going on and will likely will continue for some time. Was it all purgatory? Did it really happen or was it all in Jack’s mind?

One person who doesn’t seem to have any problem understanding the end is Michael Emerson. The actor played morally-challenged Benjamin Linus on the ABC series for five seasons. He recently visited Attack of the Show and set the record straight.

Emerson said, “A real plane crashed on a real island, and real survivors lived there for a period of time and had adventures. And then they passed over.”

He also teased that there was more story to come. In the finale, Hurley (Jorge Garcia) becomes the island’s new protector and Ben agrees to help him, much like Richard Alpert helped Jacob. In the final minutes of the Lost finale, when they see each other in the afterlife, they quietly exchange compliments about how well they did their jobs on the island; seemingly an indication that they worked together on the island for some time.

We didn’t get to see them in their new jobs in the finale but Emerson says that some of that partnership was filmed. He said, “For those people who want to pony up and buy the complete Lost series [on DVD], there is a bonus feature which is, you can call it an epilogue, a lost scene. It’s a lot. It’s 12 or 14 minutes that opens a window onto that gap of unknown time between Hurley becoming number one and the end of the series.”

In thinking about it, Emerson wasn’t sure if he was going to get in trouble for sharing that piece of information. When asked if this could lead to a Hurley and Me type of spin-off, Emerson said, “No, it’s self-contained although it’s a rich period in the show’s mythology that has never been explored so who knows what will become of it.”

It’s unclear if Emerson is talking about is the same additional footage that will supposedly be included with the season six DVDs. It sounds like its separate but, since we don’t have official release information, we can’t be sure just yet.

What do you think? Would you be interested in seeing the added footage that Emerson mentioned? How about some kind of spin-off with Hurley and Ben, island protectors?

The final shots of the 815 wreckage was put there by people at ABC not the producers of LOST . “May 26, 2010 … ABC told the LA Times that the network – and not executive producers … “”The images shown during the end credits of the Lost finale, … aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news,”” I liked it. Just still shots and the roaring of the ocean as LOST came to close. Reminded me of the end of Planet of the Apes (the original Heston classic, not the so-so remake) Maybe they could… Read more »

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June 1, 2010 8:49 am

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festie

i took the ending wreckage to be an homage(a goodbye if you will) to the island. it was just as much an important character as the rest of them. no harm no foul.

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May 31, 2010 8:01 pm

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John Locke

I really hope they decide to expand the 14 minute epilog into a series. After all Rose and Bernard and Vincent and probably others were still alive on the Island and those on Flight 316 could always return one day – after Hugo pays them a visit. Perhaps Dharma could even try and reestablish a presence on the Island as well as Widmores heirs. One would imagine Hugo and Ben might run it like Fantasy Island – trying to save LOST souls and help people. Dont forget Walt is still alive and may return to try and release his father… Read more »

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May 31, 2010 7:11 pm

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Mr Dank

While I love the idea of a Hurley and benry show, I think I love it better as just an idea. I really don’t know where else they could take it. Now, as for spin offs… How frackin AWESOME would a Sawyer and Miles detective show be?!? LA Vice but obviously you’d need a cooler title. And it needs to be whimsical and fun, like Hudson Hawk.

I’d love to see the extra footage (Hurley and Ben … ), and hope it will all be included on the sixth season DVD package. But do I want to see a Hurley and Me spin-off? Not really. I like the finality of Lost as a whole. Yes, I wish ABC hadn’t added the plane wreckage at the end, and I try to ignore that when thinking of the whole: from eye opening to eye closing. I like to think of Lost as the alternate realities and parallel histories of the characters, and that the combination of that is what… Read more »

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May 29, 2010 8:31 am

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Jason

Hell yeah I want to see that footage, and I will be buying the whole series set even tho I already have seasons 1-5. But 14 minutes is no where near enough of Hugo and Ben’s story to satisfy me, so I am all about a Hugo/Ben spin-off. I mean I want ANY type of spin-off that keeps the Island’s mysteries and stories alive and hopefully explain more of the mythology aspect of the Island, but a Hugo/Ben spin-off about their shared experiences protecting the Island for however long they both where number 1 and 2 before their deaths would… Read more »

For some reason this morning it bothered me that we never learned who The Economist was…but I can’t wait to buy the entire series!!!

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May 29, 2010 5:36 am

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c

Yes!

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May 29, 2010 5:27 am

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Reddo

Season 6, while a great season with engaging storyline, really just negates seasons 2-5, as it essentially says that the events (such as dharma, widmore’s mercinaries, Jacobs cabin, walt, time travel- the list goes on) that occired during this time were unimportant and really had little to do with why the survivors were on the island.

Season 6 should be renamed Season 2 version B!

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May 29, 2010 3:45 am

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lori amsler

I have watched lost for six years now. Loyal lostie, love the show. But I want to know about the island. What was it? Did all the survivor’s experiences happen?. Help

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May 29, 2010 1:03 am

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Eko

I’d absolutely love to see the adventures of Hurley & Ben. Question is, could it top the dramedy procedural starring Sawyer & Miles?

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May 28, 2010 6:36 pm

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Gerry Jamison

haha awsome. i agree with his interpretation. cant wait to buy the complete series (such a nerd)